The Senate Standing Committee on Interior has approved a bill related to the issuance of blue (diplomatic) passports to senators and recommended removing the six-year service condition for senators and their children to obtain such passports.
The committee meeting reviewed the bill proposing changes in eligibility criteria for blue passports issued to members of the Senate and their families.
During the meeting, Chairman of the committee Senator Faisal Saleem expressed anger over the absence of the Director General of Passports and questioned his whereabouts, asking why he was not present.
The bill was presented by Senator Abdul Qadir, who stated that a senator should be eligible for a blue passport if they serve for three years in the Senate.
However, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry opposed the proposal, stating that blue passports have been misused in the past. He added that while he would not name individuals, “everyone knows” about such misuse.
Talal Chaudhry further said that holders of blue passports can travel to several countries without visas, and cited an incident involving the 28-year-old son of MNA Iqbal Afridi, who traveled to a country on a blue passport, later moved to Italy, and applied for political asylum while surrendering the passport. He said this incident caused embarrassment when a message was received from abroad.
He added that when Pakistan discusses visa facilitation with other countries, it is often questioned about the number of blue passports issued. He said the government has already tightened rules for diplomatic and blue passports and reduced their numbers, issuing them only where necessary.
The minister also stated that misuse of blue passports affects Pakistan’s ability to sign memorandums of understanding with other countries.
